Divan



July 14, 1942. R. E. WACHTER 2,289,609

DIVAN FiledFeb. 10, 1941 IN VEN TOR.

. fITTORNEY.

Rose-er 1 WACHTEE Patented July 14, 1942 DIVAN Robert E. Wachter, San Francisco, Calif., assignor to Simon Mattress Manufacturing 00., San Francisco, Calif, a corporation of California Application February 10, 1941, Serial No. 378,124

5 Claims.

The present invention relates to divans, and particularly to that type of furniture designed for use, through simple adjustment, as either a bed or a seat similar in appearance and proportions to a davenport.

At the present time, an extensively used type of divan is that which consists principally of two end or arm members between which extend a horizontal seat member and a vertical back member. Styles and finish, of course, may vary greatly, but in practically all of the popularly accepted models, the arm, seat and back members appear to be entirely separate parts. This results principally from the fact that the back member is made to swing from its vertical position to a horizontal position on a plane with the seat member, in order to change the piece from a seat to a bed. The back member must be considerably thicker than the back of most conventional davenports so that it will lie in the same plane as the seat member and form therewith a good mattress for sleeping purposes, and must also be sufficiently thick to accommodate the heavy spring structure essential to mattress comfort. conventionally the arms are considerably lower than the back member when it is raised to serve as a seat, with the result that the thick and bulky appearing upper corners of the back member are exposed. For these and other reasons, the designs which have been created for double purpose divans have been very limited and have failed to conceal the real nature of the pieces, with the result that they are distasteful to many prospective purchasers who desire a piece of furniture for their living rooms that can be used as a guest bed, but who object to the stereotyped appearance of the conventional two purpose divan.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a divan which may be converted expediently and through simple means to a double bed, and which is so constructed that when it is used as a seat, it will have the appearance of a rigid davenport.

It is likewise an object of the invention to provide, in a conventional type of two purpose divan having arms and a folding back member, wings on said arms which will abut the ends of the back member and register with the back member in a manner to give it the appearance of being integrally connected with the arms, and in a manner to reduce greatly its apparent thickness.

Further objects and advantages of the invention are made apparent in the following specification, wherein reference is made to the accompanying drawing illustrating a typical embodiment of the invention.

In the drawing- Fig. 1 is a perspectiveview of a divan constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of one end of the divan, taken on line II-II of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one ocrner of the divan with the back thereof being swung downwardly toward a horizontal position in which it will serve with the seat to form a mattress for a bed.

The invention is illustrated in the drawing in one form which it may assume when applied to a fully upholstered two purpose divan, comprising in general a pair of arm members indicated at It], a seat II, and a back member l2. The back member I2 is, through the use of conventional hardware which forms no part of the present invention and which is therefore not illustrated herein, supported in such a manner that it may be swung downwardly and toward the rear to assume a position adjacent to and. on the same plane with the seat member ll, thus forming a mattress of double bed proportions so that the divan, which serves as a seat by day may be converted by night into a comfortable bed.

Because of the purpose which this back member serves, it must be considerably thicker than is necessary for its purpose as the back member of a seat. Consequently, its ends, the general shape of which is best indicated at l3 in Fig. 2, are thick or bulky in appearance and, in the construction of the conventional divan, extend above the tops M of the arms Ill. The resultant effect is to give the divan an appearance which immediately distinguishes it from conventional davenports and marks it as a double purpose piece of furniture. I

The present invention provides a pair of wings I 5 supported by and extending upwardly from the tops I4 of the arms I0 and designed with a surface I6 which registers with and, for practical purposes, abuts the upper portions of the ends H of the back 12. These wings are curved to swing forwardly over the arms M to provide a forwardly exposed face which may, if desired, be embellished with a carved wood panel I! for design purposes or which may be upholstered with the same material as the remainder of the divan. This forwardly exposed face may, however, be modified by being sloped forwardly or shaped in such a manner that it will blend with the arm they appear as an integral part, the ends l3 of the back member and the ends l6 of the wing members are spaced just sufliciently to permit 7 the relative movement, but the forward edges of the ends [6 of the wing members are provided with bulges or rolls l8 projecting toward the back sufiiciently to engage the same and give the 'appearance of a simple seam or groove in the design of the upholstery, rather than that of a separable joint. While these seams are in most cases finished with a welt, as shown at IS in Fig. 2, it is preferable that the front edge of the ends l3 of the back member be finished smooth to insure against wear of the abutting ends as the back'is swung to and from its vertical position.

The principles of the invention as herein described and as defined by the appended claims may, of course, be applied to divans of many different designs and styles; in all cases giving the same desired'result'of creating the appearance of ,a solid relatively thin back member which swings forwardly at its outer ends, rather than the appearance of a thick separate adjustable back member, as is the case in the conventionally constructed two purpose divan;

Having thus described my invention, What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a divan or the like having an arm member'and a back member which swings from a horizontal position to a substantially vertical position adjacent the arm member, a wing fixed to the arm member and registering with an end of the back member and shaped to appear as an integral extension of the back member said wing having a portion curving forwardly and reduced in thickness to reduce the apparent thickness of the back member.

2. In a divan or the like having a pair of arm members and a back member extending between the arm members and adapted to swing from a horizontal to a substantially vertical position, wings fixed one to each of the arm members and shaped to register with opposite ends of the back member each of said wings having a portion curving forwardly and reduced in thickness to reduce the apparent thickness of the back memher.

3. In an upholstered divan or the like having a pair of arm members and a back member extending between the arm members and adjustable from a horizontal position to a substantially vertical position, wing members formed integrally with the arm members and having surfaces abutting and registering in shape with the ends of the back member to permit it to be adjusted and to give the appearance of being formed integrally with it when it is in its vertical position said wing members curving forwardly over the arm members and being reduced in thickness toward their forward ends.

4. In an upholstered divan or the like having a pair of arm members and a back member extending between the arm members and adjustable from a horizontal position to a substantially vertical position, wing members formed integrally with the arm members and having surfaces abutting and registering in shape with the ends of the back member to permit it to be adjusted and to give the appearance of being formed integrally with it when it is in its vertical position, said wing members having rolls formed on their forwardly exposed edges of abutment with the back member to conceal the lines of their juncture therewith.

5. In'an upholstered divan having a seat; end portions, and a back portion which swings from a vertical position between the end portions to a horizontal position to act with the seat portion as a bed, upholstered rolls formed on the end portions in a position to conceal the line of juncture between the back and ends when the back is in its vertical position.

ROBERT E. WACHTER. 

